Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Most mayors agree Broward must stop secret discussions
A majority of Broward County’s mayors agreed Wednesday that they should stop meeting privately to weigh COVID-19 decisions and should open up the discussion to public view.
For six months, the county has refused to allow the public to watch meetings in which mayors and county officials discuss how to protect against the coronavirus. After the South Florida Sun Sentinel pushed to open the meetings, the number of mayors who are demanding change has swelled to a majority.
Of the mayors representing the county’s 31 cities, 20 told the Sun Sentinel on Wednesday that they support opening up the discussions to be transparent. They say the meetings need to be recorded, opened to the public or both.
Their COVID-related talks, which have been held on a nearly weekly basis, have touched on a range of issues, such as beach openings, curfews, mask rules, restaurant hours and business restrictions.
The mayors spoke out a day after Broward County Mayor Dale Holness refused to budge on his position to keep the decision-making meetings out of the pub
lic spotlight.
Holness, who has run the conference calls since March, has cited concern that making the meetings public would give mayors reason to grandstand, if they knew that their comments would be heard by many more people.
Through his spokeswoman, Holness said Wednesday said there will be no changes on the meetings at this time.
On Tuesday, Holness said only eight mayors had indicated they supported opening the meetings. “The vast majority of mayors, by their silence, are not interested in the media being on the call or these meetings being recorded,” he said in an email.
But Sunrise’s Mayor Mike Ryan said he didn’t realize Holness was taking some sort of straw poll, and “had I been asked, I would have made clear I am fine with the calls being recorded.”
Davie Mayor Judy Paul threatened to leave future meetings if the county didn’t change its policy.
Coconut Creek Mayor Lou Sarbone chastised the county mayor in a group email for assuming those who didn’t speak didn’t want transparency.
The county initially was recording the leaders’ meetings. But when the Sun Sentinel requested recordings of the meetings, the county abruptly stopped recording any subsequent discussions.
Sun Sentinel attorney Daniela B. Abratt emailed the county’s mayors that their meetings ran “afoul of both the text and the spirit of the Sunshine Laws” that govern open meetings.
In another email, she wrote, “Undoubtedly, the mayors are discussing matters of critical public concern as they relate to the pandemic, proposed regulations, and the collaboration between cities.”
The 20 mayors who said Wednesday they supported transparency with the meetings:
■ Lou Sarbone of Coconut Creek
■ Greg Ross of Cooper City
■ Scott Brook of Coral Springs
■ Lori Lewellen of Dania Beach
■ Judy Paul of Davie
■ Bill Ganz of Deerfield Beach
■ Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale
■ Hillsboro Beach Mayor Deb Tarrant
■ Josh Levy of Hollywood
■ Ken Thurston of Lauderhill
■ Glenn Troast of Lighthouse Point
■ Tommy Ruzzano of Margate
■ Wayne Messam of Miramar
■ Ana M. Ziade of North Lauderdale
■ Matthew Sparks of Oakland Park
■ Christine Hunschofsky of Parkland
■ Rex Hardin of Pompano Beach
■ Mike Ryan of Sunrise
■ Dan Stermer of Weston
■ Tom Green of Wilton Manors
Of those mayors, two said they’d support opening the meetings — but with conditions.
Tarrant endorsed allowing access as long as the news media accurately represented the group’s discussions and goals. “I’m fine with the media being present if the goal is to report the consensus from the calls,” Tarrant said.
Sparks also agreed to the media access but only if it’s recorded to ensure accuracy. He told the mayors that if he feels a story is “twisted” “and “the media abuses its reporting then we can revoke their presence.”
Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis said he doesn’t want the public to listen in and would prefer to keep things “the way we’re having it now.”
Broward’s other 10 mayors did not respond to the Sun Sentinel’s request for their position on the meetings. They are:
■ Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach
■ Evan Anthony of Lazy Lake
■ Chris Vincent of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
■ Hazelle Rogers of Lauderdale Lakes
■ Ashira Mohammed of Pembroke Park
■ Lynn Stoner of Plantation
■ Jeffrey Nelson of Sea Ranch Lakes
■ Doug McKay of Southwest Ranches
■ Michelle Gomez of Tamarac
■ Eric Jones of West Park
“During these trying times I believe more openness and transparency is required,” Sarbone said.
Agreed Thurston: “More information is better than less.”
Troast said he wanted people to know what was going on: “The more transparency we have the better as we all work through these difficult times. The discussions should never be political but focused on what is best for our community.”
Ruzzano said he was unable to get Holness to conduct a formal poll. “The residents need to know what is going on and how their mayor is representing them,” he said Wednesday.